NNI Budget

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The 2018 Federal Budget provides $1.2 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a continued investment in support of innovation promoting America’s interests, including competitiveness, economic growth, and national security. The Budget supports investments in basic research, early-stage applied research, and technology transfer efforts that will lead to the breakthroughs of the future. Cumulatively totaling over $25 billion since the inception of the NNI in 2001 (including the 2018 request), this support reflects the continued importance of investments that advance our fundamental understanding of and ability to control matter at the nanoscale, as well as the translation of that knowledge into technological breakthroughs that serve the American people. The NNI investments in 2016 and 2017 and those proposed for 2018 reflect a sustained emphasis on broad, fundamental research in nanoscience to provide a continuing pipeline of new discoveries that will enable future transformative commercial products and services.

Federal organizations with the largest investments are:

National Science Foundation (NSF): fundamental research and education across all disciplines of science and engineering

National Institutes of Health (NIH): nanotechnology-based biomedical research at the intersection of life and physical sciences

Department of Energy (DOE): fundamental and applied research providing a basis for new and improved energy technologies

Department of Defense (DOD): science and engineering research advancing defense and dual-use capabilities

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): fundamental research and development of measurement and fabrication tools, analytical methodologies, metrology, and standards for nanotechnology

Other agencies and agency components investing in mission-related nanotechnology research are the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Transportation (including the Federal Highway Administration), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Forest Service, and the Agricultural Research Service), and the Department of Interior (including the U.S. Geological Survey).